1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC (integrated circuit) card connector which is provided with a card detection terminal and allows one of multiple IC cards with the same external dimensions to be mounted therein selectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic device such as cellular phones or digital cameras achieve enhancement of their various functions, or the like, by mounting, by way of an IC card connector, an IC card such as a MEMORY STICK (registered trademark) that has a central processing unit (CPU) or an integrated circuit for a memory embedded therein.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2,973,402, for example, such an IC card connector in actual use is provided with a card end detection switch for detecting an end of an IC card. Thus, if the card end detection switch finds that an IC card is not mounted in the IC card connector, a controller is prevented from erroneously performing the writing or deleting of data. The controller starts power supply control and data transfer control in response to a detection signal from the card end detection switch indicating that the IC card is mounted. The card end detection switch is fixed to an inner end corner portion of a card reception chamber, for example. The card end detection switch is located at one end of a row common to a row of contact terminals but is away from the contact terminals. The contact terminals come into contact with and are connected to an electrode pad of the IC card to be mounted. The card end detection switch comprises, for example, a first driven element and a second driven element respectively provided with elastic contact pieces.
A card connector which is provided with a card end detection switch separately from the contact terminals, as in the above case, has a complicated structure, and thus has a problem of requiring a large number of components because the card end detection switch needs a terminal and the like for connection to the substrate where the card connector is disposed.
To solve this kind of problem, a card connector as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3,713,003, for example, is proposed. In place of a card end detection switch, the card connector is provided with a card detection terminal which is arranged in parallel with and adjacent to one of multiple grounding contact terminals (hereinafter referred to as the first grounding contact terminal). A contact portion of the card detection terminal is adjacent to a contact portion of the first grounding contact terminal. The contact portion of the card detection terminal comes into contact with a common electrode pad of an IC card (hereinafter also referred to as a grounding/IC card detection electrode pad) with which the contact portion of the first grounding contact terminal also comes into contact.
Accordingly, when an IC card is inserted into the card connector, a grounding contact terminal located at a central part of the card connector first comes into contact with a grounding pad of the IC card. Next, the first grounding contact terminal comes into contact with the grounding/IC card detection electrode pad. Subsequently, a power source connection terminal and a signal line terminal come into contact with a power source electrode pad and a signal line electrode pad, respectively. Lastly, the card detection terminal comes into contact with the grounding/IC card detection electrode pad. As a result, the first grounding contact terminal and the card detection terminal make a short circuit. Accordingly, a predetermined voltage is changed so that the first grounding contact terminal and the card detection terminal have the same potential and thereby, mounting of the IC card is detected.
When multiple IC cards have the same external dimensions but are different in data transfer speed, as in the relation between a MEMORY STICK PRO DUO (registered trademark) card and a MEMORY STICK PRO-HG DUO (registered trademark) card, for example, these IC cards may often be mounted to a common card connector although having different layouts of electrode pads.